[Robert Hay]

Hi Everyone

Please find amended response to Question 27.

We do not support this recommendation. Most Councils’ have adopted hardship policies and debt recovery policies which give consideration to ratepayers suffering genuine hardship with legal action being taken as an option of last resort to recover outstanding rates.

The use of the State Debt Recovery Office in the recovery of rates and charges and the options for recovery that they could provide as mentioned in the report would not add any new recovery options that are not already available to Councils through the use of debt recovery agents.

The report also notes that the SDRO has a recovery rate of 75%. Rates and charges are a debt on the land and therefore result in a 100% recovery rate for Councils.

A survey conducted by The NSW Revenue Professionals indicated that of the 72 councils who responded, 24,000 Statement of Liquidated Claims (SLC) were lodged (most lodged electronically) in 2015/2016. Of those 24,000 SLC’s lodged less than a quarter went to default judgement. Therefore we fail to understand how the draft report suggests that Councils recovery actions are placing a burden on the local court system. The figure of 24,000 SLC’s represents less than 1% of total ratepayers. This again shows that the current system is working well.

Councils’ should have a moral obligation in relation to recovering rates and charges as they are obligatory charges, not optional. Currently rates reminder notices and demand letters are issued to ratepayers free of charge. To add fines and fees to ratepayers who are already in financial hardship would go against these moral obligations.

We would question why IPART would consider taking such a prescriptive approach to debt recovery when the purpose of the reform is to give flexibility to councils’ operational tasks. Councils should have the control and the discretion to initiate legal action.

Placing debt recovery at a State level will take away the community aspect of Councils as most ratepayers wish to deal directly with their Council when making arrangements or negotiating rates payments.

Thanks
Robert